


We Are Infinite

by truth_renowned



Series: One-Word Prompts [3]
Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: Angst without a happy ending, F/M, I'm Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 16:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10723101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/truth_renowned/pseuds/truth_renowned
Summary: Peggy looked at herself in the mirror. She ignored the deep wrinkles on her face, the gray streaks in her hair. She focused instead on the silver necklace around her neck. As her hand toyed with the symbol connecting the two delicate chains, she smiled. Daniel had given her the necklace on their 30th wedding anniversary. It was subtle and unassuming, just like her husband, yet it spoke volumes about their lives together.





	We Are Infinite

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the single-word prompt 'nostalgia'. Yeah, I know. How I took nostalgia and got this is a mystery.

Peggy looked at herself in the mirror. She ignored the deep wrinkles on her face, the gray streaks in her hair. She focused instead on the silver necklace around her neck. As her hand toyed with the symbol connecting the two delicate chains, she smiled. Daniel had given her the necklace on their 30th wedding anniversary. It was subtle and unassuming, just like her husband, yet it spoke volumes about their lives together.

She hadn’t been sure about the necklace at first, but it quickly grew on her, so much so that it was her favorite. It wasn't the necklace itself but the meaning behind it. She never went anywhere without it around her neck. And she never would, especially now.

_“It’s the infinity symbol,” Daniel said._

_“I see that.”_

_“Do you like it?” His hopeful look made her heart melt._

_“Yes, very much. It’s…”_

_“I know, it’s different,” he replied with a smirk, “but we’ve always been different.”_

_She smiled. “That we have, Daniel.” Her fingernail traced the joined loops, smoothed over the single diamond in the symbol. “It's beautiful.”_

_“I saw it and thought of you, of us. Who would have thought we'd last this long?”_

_“Not I,” she said with a laugh, though she didn't mean it. She knew from that first kiss that they belonged together. Through the highs and lows, she wouldn’t change a thing._

_“We must be crazy.”_

_She knew he didn't mean it, either, despite his mischievous grin._

_“No,” she said, pointing to the symbol, “this says we are infinite.”_

_His grin bloomed into a beautiful smile. “Yes, we are, no matter what.” He took the necklace from her. “Here, let me help you.”_

She could almost see him now in the mirror, his calloused fingers deftly manipulating the fragile clasp. His lips caressing her temple, his strong arms enveloping her and settling just under her breast. His soft, smooth voice telling her how much he loved her.

Forty-six years together. It did seem like infinity, but really it was only a tiny speck in time. A tiny speck that she would have given anything to extend just a bit longer.

“Mom, are you ready?”

Peggy met her daughter’s sad eyes in the mirror. 

“Almost.” With a shaky hand, she opened the lipstick case, then carefully applied a finishing coat of red to her lips.

“You know,” Beth said, “you don't have to go.”

“Yes, I do. Your father is…” She paused, biting the inside of her lip. “Your father was a good man. We all should celebrate that.”

“He would hate all of this pomp and circumstance.”

“He would understand that all of this is not for those who have left us, but for those of us left behind.”

Peggy could tell her daughter had been crying, her normally meticulous eye makeup faded. Tears welled in Beth’s eyes as she met her mother’s gaze in the mirror.

“None of that,” Peggy admonished. “You're a Sousa woman.”

Beth huffed out a laugh while wiping a stray tear. “I'm not as strong as you are, Mom.”

“You most certainly are as strong as I am, Elizabeth Ann. You always have been.” She grasped her daughter’s hand in hers.

“Not right now, I'm not.” Beth wiped another tear from her cheek. “You don't have to be, either.”

“That's where you're wrong, darling. I have to be strong for you, for Michael. For your father. He would expect that from me.”

“He would understand if you weren't strong today, if you cried...”

Peggy shook her head, letting go of her daughter's hand. “You think I haven't cried? I have cried myself to sleep every night since…” She lifted her chin, meeting her daughter’s gaze in the mirror. “I have cried, Beth. I will continue to cry but in private. Crying is a very private experience, or at least it is for me.”

Peggy paused, smiled. “I'm not as strong as you think I am.”

“Yes, you are, Mom. You're the strongest woman I have ever known.”

“You can thank your father for a lot of that.”

Beth’s lips curled into a sad smile. “He was the man behind the strong woman.”

Peggy put a hand on her daughter’s arm. “He was the compassionate, intelligent, courageous man standing side by side with the strong woman.”

Beth nodded, cleared her throat, and Peggy knew she was mentally preparing herself for the task ahead. And it truly was a task, one that none of them wanted to complete. 

“We should go,” Beth said. “Michael is already in the car.”

“I'll be right behind you.” She watched as her daughter left the room.

With one last look in the mirror, Peggy’s gaze settled on the necklace, remembering Daniel’s last words to her, as he lay in the hospital bed just a few days ago.

_“Always remember that we are infinite, Peg. No matter what.”_

“Yes, we are, my love,” she said before turning from the mirror and leaving the room.

**Author's Note:**

> The necklace Daniel gave Peggy: <http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/222122248025-0-1/s-l1000.jpg>


End file.
